Boy Meets Trucks

As I said before, Gus still doesn't talk. At 19 months, he is a little delayed, but this is his trend. He has a handful of signs that I taught him: milk, water, banana, cookie, more, done, dog, cat, bird. He refuses to learn animal sounds. The only one he will repeat is snake (which says "ssssssssss"). The kid has made up his own words for a few different vehicles. For instance, for train he says, "choo choo" or for fire engine he says "woooo woooo woooo" and finally, for his all time favorite trucks he says, "ckkkkkkkkkk."

I find it so amazing that as a boy he loves trucks and balls. I give him dolls and stuffed animals, but he will not play with them. He only wants to throw rocks and push trucks. Isn't it funny how we don't push gender roles on children, they inherently know them? While Gus is drawn naturally to boy stuff, he has no understanding of "boy colors." He loves to play with his pink car which makes my guy friends cringe.

Gus loves his trucks. He just got a very large metal Tonka Dump Truck from his grandmother. Gus loves this truck because 1) its big with big wheels which makes it easy to push around 2) it carries a lot of rocks and 3) the large wheel give the truck the ability to go down hills very very fast. Gus pushes the truck to top of hills and then gently rocks it back and forth as if he was counting 1-2-3 and then gives it a good shove. That truck goes coasting down the hill very fast until it gains so much momentum that it flips over crashing. Of course, the crashing is just as fun as watching it go down the hill. Gus is all boy!

19 Months

He gets the brow furrowing from his Mom!

Gus loves his tractors (or riding lawn mowers)

My little toddler is 19 months already! We just returned from a whirlwind trip cross country. This time, Gus and I drove to Virginia and back. Well, I drove and Gus chilled in the back seat watching movies and eating lollipops. What I discovered on this 3 week trip is that I have the best little boy ever. Of course, I am a little biased. Seriously though, that kid rocks. He rarely to never cried. In fact, he laughs pretty much non-stop. And he eats EVERYTHING. Each way driving took us 4 days. He sat contently playing with trucks I tossed to him from the front seat and watching Blues Clues.

Gus walks but he won't talk. His only word is "hot". My boy won't even say Momma. Most toddlers his age have at least 3 words minimum. Most have more than that. I believe he won't talk because he doesn't have to. I give him all he needs. He is a well loved little Gus.

Catch-up!

Gus is now 13 months old. That means I failed to tell you about his birthday party. And what a party is was. Grandma Cookie AKA Annie Brooks and I made a ducky cake. He just loves ducks and the their quack. He also had another cake because we were not sure whether we had an ugly duck or and beautiful one. Turns out that everyone loved duck cake including Gus as you can see from the pictures. Best of all the whole neighborhood turned out to celebrate Gus' first year.

Since his birthday, that boy has grown both physically and in his abilities. He crawls like a spider and is starting to walk (with a little help). He is developing a personality, which can only be described as lovable. People everywhere just stop and smile when they see him waving and smiling. Watching Gus grow and develop is almost magical. Every morning he wakes up with a smile and a trucker's appetite. After breakfast its play, play, play until nap time. On Tuesday he goes to story time in the morning at the library. Afternoons are spent playing with grandma and grandpa on days that I work. Weekends are reserved for Gus and me.

To keep him from wearing out his grandma and grandpa, I have Thaneda, a Thai woman who lives around the corner watch him several afternoons a day. I guess no one would be surprised to learn that Thaneda loves him.

As for me, I have moved on from bedside nursing to college professor. Yes, I am an Assistant Professor of Nursing at the a local community college. It is a TON of work but I love it. I work 60 hrs a week, but I love my job. The program is being totally revamped and it great to be at the epicenter of the action. I am writing syllabus after syllabus, while at the same time teaching classes.

So enjoy the pictures of Gus and wish me the best in my new profession. For both of us life is good.

Gus is One!!

11 months old!

I can't believe Gus is 11 months old. He is only weeks away from being a one year old!

Moving away to be closer to my parents is the number one good thing I have ever done for Gus. The situation back in Virginia was what you would call suboptimal. I know I don't talk about how I am a single mom on this blog, but it is a fact. I made a mistake with someone who I thought I knew and trusted. Alcoholism is a bad disease.

So, there I was, 5 months pregnant and on my own. I had a good job, owned my own house, and had money in savings. I guess if I had to, I could have sucked it up and survived by myself. Truth is, when my parents suggested I up and move out here, it wasn't at the top of my list. I had made a home in Virginia. I had friends, I had a job and I had roots. Once Gus came along, I realized that life with an infant was much more difficult than I could have ever anticipated. And no, his father never even bothered to contact me after the birth of his son, much less offer to help out. You could even say I had no other option but to uproot my entire life, leave everything behind and start over. Easy? No. I just had to do what was best for my baby boy.

Funny how things tend to work out for me. Check this out. I move across the country and because I am a nurse I instantly get a job (that was a given). I move in with my parents and I tell myself, "Connie, you can live with your parents for ONE YEAR". I moved in December 6, 2008. This quaint little 3 bedroom house goes up for sale right across the ally from my parents. I knew I couldn't afford it and didn't want to be a home owner again. What happens? This nice lesbian couple from Nebraska buy it in hopes of retiring here in 5-10 years. Their relator is my neighbor and he told them how I wanted to move out but somewhere close to my parents. Bam! I have an affordable house across from my parents. And I moved in December 1st, a week from my deadline.

My passion for being a bedside nurse is dwindling. This spring, I called up the local nursing school and told them I had a Masters and wanted to teach. They let me teach some classes adjunt but told me they wouldn't have any full time positions for another few years when the older faculty would retire. Bam! A new full time professor got pregnant with her 2nd child and she quit. Bam! I now have a full time teaching job.

Back in nursing school in December of 2000, I was looking for a new car. I really wanted a Jeep and bought a Cherokee. By the way, the last year Jeep made Cherokee was 2001 and I purchased a 2001 Jeep Cherokee. Now, it snows out here in the mountains a lot. My 4 wheel drive jeep takes me everywhere I need to go. Who would have ever thought that 9 years ago, I bought my jeep for the very purpose of living and working out here in the mountains?

Things have a way of working out.

Okay, now to Gus. He is a growing boy. He is also perpetual motion. I swear that kid never stops. Sometimes I just sit and watch in total awe. He sits, he stands, he lays down. He puts the ball in the cup, he takes the ball out of the cup. He lays down, he stands, he sits. OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

He knows where his ear, his hair, and his foot are. Many people (including my brother) teach their babies sign language. Kind of reminds me of Meet the Fockers. From my research, the main reason for teaching infants sign language is that, in theory, the terrible twos come from kids being frustrated that they can't verbally express what they want. Having seen both my niece and my nephew go through the terrible twos, I have come to realize that the tantrums do not come from not being able to express what they want. It comes from them not being able to get what they want! Anyway, I have chose not to teach Gus sign language. He is just going to have to come up with his own way to express himself.

Little Gus is settling into his new home just wonderfully. I love how babies adjust so easily! Gus is on the waiting list to be in a day care center at the local elementary school. He has to be at least one years old so I have another month or so. I am crossing my fingers that BAM! he will be offered a place.

Cheese Face

Gus has, in the last couple of weeks, developed this cheesy grin whenever I take a picture of him. My niece loves to pose for cameras, too, but I didn't think at 10 months he'd develop this characteristic so soon!


It is getting cold here in the mountains. The normal temperature when we get up is 5 degrees! That is cold I am not used to. Gus's main mode of transportation is the stroller. In order to keep the little boy warm, I invested in a bunting bag for his stroller. I don't like to advertise for companies, but this thing is awesome. It is called the JJ Cole Bundle Me Arctic for toddlers. He had an original Bundle Me for when he was an infant. However, this particular Arctic version is awesome. It is wind proof and water resistance. I put him in this bag in the stroller without a jacket in 5 degree weather and he comes out sweating. I will post pictures later of Gus chilling out in stroller.

Good news! I got the teaching job! Starting January 4th, I will be a full time Faculty instructor for the school of nursing! I went up and met the director of the program. She showed me my new office. I have always been a shift workers and have never had an office. I get a locker (usually have to share that) and a mailbox. In my office, I have a window, a telephone with my own number, and a business card! This is very exciting for me! Another great thing about my job is that is is only August-May. I have 2 months off during the summer.

Anyway, I am going to go keep my Gus warm in these frigid temperatures.

I'm Still Here!

I know it has been awhile since I have blogged. I had a busy fall but that is no excuse. I am so behind on documented all of Gus's accomplishments. About a month ago, he really hit his stride. While he is not officially crawling, he gets around with his military-style crawl. Within the last week, Gus has even begun to pull himself to standing!

I have really enjoyed this year with Gus. While my job working night shift as a nurse has really allowed me to spend the maximum amount of time with him (while still making money). These night shifts with lack of sleep during the day has really worn me down. I am not sleep deprived because of my baby: I am sleep deprived because of my job! Next week I will start working two 12 hour day shifts a week. This will be difficult because it means I will two days a week without even seeing my baby boy! Gus doesn't wake up until 8am and is asleep usually by 7pm. I will work 7am until 7:30pm. The day before Gus turned 9 months, he went on nursing strike and has never nursed since. This will make it easier for me to work days because I don't have to pump anymore. It was always so hard to find time to pump on day shifts!

What a sweet kind boy my Gus is, though.

Her rarely cries and even then it is always a sign that he needs to go to sleep. Otherwise he is happy go lucky and pretty much anything flies. He has no real "schedule" which means I can take him out with me and he adapts.

Gus and I have been winding down taking him to "chat time". This was a group for nursing mothers but it was really a good time to talk to other moms of babies. Now that Gus is not nursing and is getting bigger, we are weaning ourselves from this group. Instead, we have started going to a toddler story time at the library. This saint of a lady leads the group and she has the patience of Mother Theresa. Toddlers, if you don't know, are extremely impulsive. The fact that she can keep them (for the most part) entertained for nearly 30 minutes is a miracle! She sings songs with them and reads them books. At the end there is an arts and craft session that matches the theme of the day, but it almost always involves painting. I fear giving paint to Gus who puts everything in his mouth.

I was told that I am to read to Gus everyday from the day he was born. Sad to say, I am not the best at this. He is a very active, busy boy and the reading sessions end quickly when he tears the book out of my hand and tries to eat it. Gus doesn't get the book part of story time, but I am doing my motherly duties by at least exposing him to reading!

I guess I digressed because I was talking about my job and how I was going to work 2 days a week as a nurse. Well, I have also been teaching as an adjunct professor at the local community college. Because I have a Masters in nursing, I can teach at the nursing school. Well, a full-time position has opened up starting in January, and I applied! They have it narrowed down to two people, me and this old lady who has taught nursing before. So cross your fingers for me! If I get this job, it will be a full time, Monday-Friday 8am-5pm job. No weekends, no holidays, no nights, no summers! I've never ever had a normal, non-shift work type job before and the prospect of being so "normal" overwhelms me.

I know I have so much more to update, but who wants to read pages and pages of me rambling? I will try to be better about posting more often and maybe if I remember some stories, I can go back and write that in too.

Video of Grandpa always teaching Gus new tricks!